Pashto was spoken in Rampur of Uttar Pradesh as late as 1815

Pashto was spoken in Rampur region of Uttar Pradesh as late as 1815 AD. This was reported by Mountsuart Elphinstone in his book "the account of kingdom of Cabul" which was published in 1815. Elphinstone had visited Afghanistan in 1808 as ambassdor of British East India Company and met Shah Shuja Durrani in Peshawar. He collected information about Afghans and Afghanistan in the years between 1808 and 1815. He also had knowledge about Rohillas and Rohilkhand since he had spent some time in the Nageena town of Rohilkhand. In his book he writes:

" "The residence of the Nabob (Nawab) is at Rampur, the manner of which place still resemble those of the Berdooraunees (Bar-Durranis). Pushtoo is the principal language, and one sees in the square before the Nabob's place, fair, strong, and handsome young men, sitting or lounging on beds, with that air of idleness and independence which distinguishes the Eusofzyes (Yousafzais)." ["An Account of the Kingdom of Caubul", p-351]

The Nawab of Rampur at that time was Ahmad Ali Khan. The term 'Bar-Durrani' (Bar means upper in Pashto) in the above passage refers to Yousafzais.  This title bestowed by Ahmad Shah Abdali upon the Yousafzais, Ghoria Khels, Khattaks and some other eastern Pashtun tribes.

Yousafzais had begun to settle in large numbers in Rampur and other regions of Rohilkhand in early decades of 18th century. They preserved the language and culture of Pashtuns to great extent in the first half of 19th century.

Death of the Rohilla Chief (Hafiz Rahmat Khan Barech) while fighting soldiers of the British East India Company during the Rohilla War of 1773 to 1774. From "Alden's Oxford Monthly Illustrated Journal", Volumes 2-3, 1871

Mounstuart Elphinstone

Nawabs of Rampur

Kalb Ali Khan, Nawab of Rampur, 1880 (c). Photo by Bourne & Shepherd. Source

The Nawabs of Rampur were descendants of Ali Muhammad Khan Rohilla (died in 1748). It is generally acknowledged that Ali Muhammad Rohilla was not Pashtun by birth. He was a Hindu Indian boy (Jat, Ahir or Rajput) adopted as son by Daud Khan (a mercenary from Pakhtunkhwa). However all the 18th century sources refer to Ali Muhammad Khan and his sons as "Afghan" (Pashtun) and "Rohilla" (Pashtun) which indicate that Ali Muhammad Khan and his sons identified as Pashtuns , spoke Pashto and had Pashtun manners and customs. Anandram Mukhlis who saw Ali Muhammad Khan Rohilla in 1743, describes him as a man of medium height with a fair complexion, blooming face and open forehead, about forty years old, but looking youthful and dauntlessly brave. 

In 1815 Mountstuart Elphinstone noted that Pashto was still spoken in Rampur. In late 19th and 20th century the Nawabs of Rampur, now fully Indianized, began to claim Syed ancestry. 

The Nawabs of Rampur were known for their fine aesthetic taste and preservation of ancient history. One of the dynasty's greatest accomplishments was the founding of the Rampur Raza Library: retaining one of India's largest collections of Arabic and Persian historical documents.

Hamid Ali Khan Bahadur, Nawab of Rampur, 1903. Source

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